Delhi, as I see

Normal people do not care to write. It is largely the work of idle human beings.
Actually it is a simple cause and effect cycle:
You are idle --> You have time in life to do nothing --> You tend to think and invent philosophies of your own --> Birth of an article.
Now, holidays mean a lot of time to think, read the newspaper inside-out and to devote to radio. All of it done for lack of anything else to do. Hence this writing.
[ "I think therefore I write" should qualify as a maxin just as well. Anyways.}
To start with I won't go into what the city has taught me- it is pretty much all that you learn as youth and independence come by. (Though I have to mention that I owe it to Delhi to have introduced me to the art of dancing away to madness and relishing parathas with butter cubes).
Let's see how much I have learned.
I know Delhi not so much from having seen the city too much or interacted with the crowd here. My trips to the city, besides the sorrounding Rohini and Bawana land, have been restricted to few selected locations, and the number is countable on fingertips. As far as interaction is concerned, I am yet to have talked at length to anyone not related to any technical curriculum. So, that pretty much confines my network to the type of people generally found in engineering colleges. To sum up, my impression of the city is largely media influenced, the newspaper and radio playing major roles here.
I probably have got too used to the journalistic style of The Times of India. Tried switching over to the much revered The Hindu, but in vain. It was so plain and mostly boring. Though I appreciate their concern for quality and the standards they have maintained since ages, I had become addicted to the vibrancy of TOI. They have a way of sharing information which makes it all so alive. If you take the TOI, you cannot have missed it's Guest Editor editions - the President's being their most recent offering. It goes to show that they are a newsgroup which is concerned and is seeking to be the best by taking tips from those who matter. I mean, it really takes courage to let a teenage tennis sensation to be your Editor. Cynics will point out that it is all a marketing gimmick, still I will happily pay Rs. 2 to buy it.
Also the Delhi Eleven team selection etc. has greatly improved my know-how of the movers and shakers of Delhi. This matters because it makes you feel a part of the city. Newspapers or rather The Telegraph (which we subscribe to back home) in Calcutta are great, what with all their fine literary quality and everything, but they do not undertake to promote the belonging-to-the-city feeling. They give you more food for thought.

I guess, that it then what this capital city of ours somehow lacks- time to think. The newspaper (The Times of India) therefore is an accurate representation. It is as on-the-surface as most of the busy lives here. As brand conscious. As party loving. As food indulging. As cinema crazy. As extravagant. As politically correct. As power driven. As fast and happening. As hot and as cold.
I am not saying anything's wrong, but unconsciously I tend to compare it all with the humble and peaceful hometown of mine.

Ah, the radio. I like everything about it apart from the very obviously irritating commercial advertisements. It still remains a wish though to meet, in person, any one of those millions who take time off while driving to inform these guys of the traffic conditions, or those who waste money sms-ing answer to (mostly) silly questions of their's. Anyway, when I like the music, I dont have a choice.
These radio guys have taught me quite a bit and most importantly that public opinion can sure turn a few things around. Reading civics books is another thing.
I love its pervasive nature and inherent potency. It is the medium for the masses. The mess-bhaiya, the moongfali wala, the RTV, the Mother dairy counter... you name it, they all have their version a radio. It is amazing to think of the Phoenix rise that this technically simple instrument has seen, in usage and popularity. And, it has been for the good.
If used judiciously, the radio can be made much more than something which gives you good music, hilarious jokes and shayari, cricket updates and social messages. And ofcourse a more living source of city-info than anything else and all for free.

Seems like I have deviated from my intended topic a bit, but it doesnt really matter.